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J. o. LAMOUREUX STAMP CANCELING MACHINE `Filed Dec. v, 1921 12 Sheets-Sheet 5 Sept. l5, 1925.

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UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

. .5 JOSEPH OMER LAMOUREUX, `0.1i' MONTREAL, QUEBEC, CANADA.

s'rnMP-cANcELING MACHINE.

Application led December 7, 1921. Serial No. 520,632.

Quebec, Canada, have invented certain new.

and useful Improvements in Stamp-Canceling Machines, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to stamp-canceling' machines. f

An etlicient stamp-canceling machine must, or should have many properties to satisfy all retuirements imposed upon it. l n

Mince a machine of this type 1s primarily intended as a time-savlng device, it shoulda have a high Working speed. lts efficiency therefore is, so far as this factor is concerned, proportional to the number of letters that can be effectively canceled per unit of time. l l

A letter orv other piece)l to be canceleds edectively canceled only when the stamp is completely destroyed or made unfit for further use. Every stamp-canceling machine has of course as its primary and ultimate object the eiiective cancelation of the stamp, but so far as l am advised, all machines in use up to the present time have mechanical defects and insuiiciencies which prevent a. practical attainment of the object. ln many instances as high as 40% of the stamps are either not canceled at all o1' only inetficiently canceled. slight shifting of the cancelation mark relatively to the stamp leaves the stamp unimpaired and available for-further use.

Itis a principal object of this inventionrto lprovide a stamp-canceling machine Which normally operates at a high speed to effectively cancel every stalnp placed in approxi-l mately the usual and proper position on a letter. l

It is a incre specific object to provide in a machine havin a printing disk or rollerand f means for fee ing the pieces to the disk,

mechanism for positively andreliablycontrolling the positioning of they pieces relatively to the disk.

Another specific object, is the provision of feedin-gfmech-anism, in generahoperating to deliver the pieces separately, one by one, to the disk in substantially the identical. rela-y tion'thereto. Y i

Another object is a feeding mechanism asying means.

sociated Wit-h a plurality of separating de- Y vices cor-related t0 each other'and to the feeding mechanism to effect the separation-of the pieces in transit to the printing disk.

Another main object of the invention is the pr'ovision of a printing disk havin a plurality of canceling means occupying etinite angular positions on the periphery thereof and mechanism for successively delivering to the disk pieces to be canceled in predetermined relation to successive cancel- Another main object is'the provision of a printing disk having a lurality of canceling means and means or' selectively controlling the rate of feed to the disk to either bring a single piece into` lcontact with a single' canceling means during one revolution of the disk or to successively bring pieces into Contact with the.different` canceling 'means respectively, depending on the length of the pieces to be canceled.

Another correlated object is to provide inking mechanism and means for selectively controlling it to operate it intermittently to apply ink to a distinct portion or a plurality of distinct portions of the periphery of the printing disk, or to operate it tov continuously apply ink to the Whole periphery of the disk.

Another main object. is the provision of a printing disk carrying variable .indicia such as the day and time of the day to be stamped on the pieces, and means forl changing with facility the indiciaKand moreparticularly for changin' theindicia during' the operation of the mac ine..

Various other objects will appear from the detail description.

The general object of the invention is the i provision of a stamp-canceling machine of substantially universal application, high.

speed and precision of operation.,

For a full understanding of the principles of operation, the construction andthe functional characteristics of the-invention refer- `ence 1s had ito the accompanying drawings in which f f f l Fi 1 is a-plan viewof a machine embodying t e invention; l

Fig. 2 is a bottom plan view thereof;

. Fig. 3 is a. front'view thereof;

Fig. 4 is-a/reelyiew thereof;

lesr

i shown in Fig. 5;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary plan view of the machine, certain parts being omltted to clearly indicate the posltion of other parts;

Fig. 6 is a side view ofr the construction Fig. 7v is another fragment-aryplan view, certain partsbeing shown in section; t

Fig. 8 is a side view of the constructlon shown in Fig.v 47, parts being shown insection F ig. 9 is avertical sectionshowing certain detail;

Fig. 10 isa section at right angleto that shown 1n Fig. 9;

Fig. 11 is a fragmentary plan view showing certain detail;

Fig. 12 is a side view thereof, part being broken away;

Fig. 13 is a side view of certain detail shownin Figs. 11 and 12;

Fig. 14 is a plan View thereof;

Fig. l5 is a bottom plan view thereof;

Fig. 16 is a section therethrough;

Fig. 17 is a side view of other detail shown lation of parts appearing in`Figs. 22 and 23;

` Fig. 25 is aplan View on a larger scale of other detail shown in Figs.`20 and 21 ;V

Fig. 26 is aside view thereof;

Fig. 27 is a sectional view of a construction which may be embodied in the machine;

Figs. 28, 29 and 30 are plan views ofdifferent forms of a detail appearing in ig. 31 is aplan view of the .printing dlS v r Fig. 32 is an end view thereof;

Fig. 33 is a plan view of the printing disk, the cover being removed;

Fig. 34 is a fra entary horizontal section, certain parts ileling removed; y

Fig. 35 is a fragmentary vertical section through the disk;

Fig. v36 is an edge view of the disk and a fragmentary section on a line at right angle to the section in Fig. 35; l

Fig. 37 is a plan view of a detail;

Fig. 38 is a section on line 38-38, Fig. 37;

Fig. 39 is another plan view of the disk various parts being removed; and

Fig. 40 is a plan view of a detail.

Having reference to Figs. 1-4, 1 represents a platform upon which the principal operating mechanism is disposed and 2 iS. e

plate held by means of studs 3 in spaced parallel relation to platforms l and aifording a support for the transmission mechanism required for the operation'of the machine. v

The principal element of the machine is the printing disk or roller 4 which, as Will be more fully pointed out, is continuously rotated. This disk has upon its periphery a plurality of distinct printing elements for canceling letters or other pieces of mail. In the present embodiment I prefer to use two main stamps or dies 104.and I.105 for marking the name of the postoliice, date and hourpas is usual and collateral stamps 104 and 105a for applying collateral cancelation marks see Figs. 31 and 32. The main dies are .angularly spaced from eachother 180 and the collateral stamps are disposed in symmetrical' position thereto, as indicated in Figs. 31 and32. Whilethe' peripheral distance from one die to the other may be varied indifferent machines, I have found that nine inches is very well suited for the usual conditions. It is thus possible with this disk to ass over two letters nine inches long'. without overlapping. For operating4 upon letters longer than' nine inches it is necessary to bring only one letter into`contact with the disk during one revolution, if it is desired to impress the stam-p' upon substantially the same surface portion of each letter. .y The principal part of the invention has to do with the provisionof means for so controlling the motion of the pieces to be canceled to the disk that each letter will come into contact with the disk in substantially the same relationship to a canceling means and that slipping or 'shifting is practically excluded, whether a single piece or two'pieces are acted u on Vby the disk during one revolution an with the provision of means for selectively controlling the rate` of feeding motion to feed either one letter or two letters vto the disk during one revolution thereof.

The letters or. other pieces to be canceled i are delivered upon the table constituted by the 'portion 1 of the platform 1. Length# wise of the platform 1 extends a partition 5 against which the letters come to rest. For reasons which presently appear Lthe letters are delivered in stacks upon a chute (not shown)l so that the weight or rather a considerable part of the lweight of the stack resses' each letter as it reaches the foot o the stack firmly toward the partition 5. y

On the` farside of the partition are disposed friction rollers -6 and 7 projecting slightly through openings 8 and 9 respectively beyond the front face of the partition. The

pressure exerted by a. stack. or a relatively large number of letters'upon the lowermost letter produces a suicient'frictional contact between the rollers 6 4and 7 and the letter so that normally, while the rollers revolve,

.with the table, the impulse given to the letter by the roller,;6 will cause it to overeach letter which comes in contact with the rollers is rapidly moved away from the stack toward the printing disk i. e. to the left in Figs. 1,3 and l. It should be. noted at the very outset that normally only one letter can be moved at one time. The. friction between the lowermost letter and the second letter is ordinarily distributed over the whole contact area and therefore -not sufficient to causel movement of the second letter sin'iultaneously with the first one. The following letters are still less affected by' the action of the rollers 6 and 7.

However there are always certain irregularities and it has been found necessary oradvisable in practice to provide mechanism operating to promote separation of two or more letters adhering to each other toI a greater extent than is ordinarily or normally the case.

For this purpose I mount upon the table .la a separating frame 10 carrying a plurality of separating fingers 1l, 1.2, 13, and 14, shown on a larger scale in Fig. 11. The

fingers 11, 12 and 13 yare pivotally mounted on the frame 10 and actuated-by springs toresiliently bear iipon a letterforced past them by the ro'llers 6 and 7. 'I hey are mounted substantially opposite roller 7 and -are so spaced in vertical direction that the middle finger 12 bears directly against roller 7 while fingers 1 1 and 13 bear up'on the letter above and below the roller, respectively. Taking into account thatI the roller 7 projects slightly beyond the face of the partition 5 and that the fingers 11 and 13 will force the letter above and below theI roller 7 slightly inwardly toward vthe partition 5, the fingers 11, -12 and 13 are so dimensioned that the upper finger 11 will bear upon the letter in advance'offinger 12 and finger 12 in advance of finger 13. The significance of this arrangement is as follows: Assume that a letter should be tilted upwardly-at its rear end, the front end will meet first the upper'finger 11 which -offers a certain resistance toit.` -Since the lower front edge is still freeto move, the force imparted to the letter will cause it to swing about the stop 11 as a pivot with the. result that the `rear end will move downwardly "into contact with the table. Once the lower edge of the letter is in contact come the spring action of thelfinger 11 and to pass under it. Normally the letter having entered between finger 11 and roller'7, the additional impulse given to it by `roller 7 -will cause it to rapidly pass toward the disk 4. Fingers 12 and 13 open in" succession and by their springV pressure upon the letter bring thelatter into firm frictional to pass along out of its normal order alongwith the lowermost letter. On the one hand the frictional. contact with the first letter is comparatively small and on the' other handl the resistance of the `finger 11 against a second letter comparatively large sothat a second letter is not likely to pass finger` 11. However,should through some cause a second letter'pass finger 11, the fingers 12 and 13 form successive barriers which by letter sufficiently to at least retard its motion.

In addition finger 14 is provided which functions primarily as a separator. It pref-` erably is a spring blade and has its front edge curved slightly rearwardly so as to more effectively' interceptany letter which should pass forwardly out of its order. While I .havel foundl that this arrangement efficiently performs the function :for which it'is intended, I wish toemphasize that there is considerable latitude as to details. The important feature is 'the increasing additive action of a plurality of fingers.

successively acting upon a letter to restrain it and thereby retard it relatively to the lowermost letter. l have found that, unless two letters are adhesively connected as by glue or other substance, the arrangement does not fail to effectively separate them. The lowermost letter, on the other' hand, has no difficulty in passing forward. To the contrary the fingers act upon'it to increase the frictional contact and thereby the propelling impulses. The true character of the fingers thus is that they selective-ly act upon two or more letters to pro` mote the motion of one and retard the motion of the other or others.

The frame 10 may be'bolted to the table 1*,by means of a bolt l5 passing through an ear'16i on the frame 10.,

Thefeeding means so far described have the sole purpose to successively feed the -letters toward the disk, one by one, but in the absence of. other special provisions the letters would reach the disk hap-hazardly `i. e. 'in no particular positional relation to 'the canceling means thereon. It is therefore necessary to bring the movement of the letters into a ldefinite constant time relationshipV4 with the movement of the disk so that a letter/ can come into contact with the their additive action restrain the second disk only ina predetermined position relatively to a canceling means.

Generally and briefly expressed, the mechanism provided for this purpose is based upon the idea to temporarily arrest the movement of each piece until the-disk has reached a certain poistion relatively to it and to release they piece assoon as this position is reached. However, in -order to make any accidental slipping of. the piece relatively to the feeding means and consequently relaf' of movement toward ythe disk are mounted two rollers 17 and 18 projecting, like rollers K 6 and 7, through openings in the partition movement of the shoe.

slightly beyond the surface thereof. On the platform 1 is mounted by means of bolts 19 and 20 and a lug 21 a frame 22 similar to frame 10. At its inner end the frame carries two spring-pressed contactshoes 23 and 24 positioned to exert pressure /against the rollers 17 and 18 respectively. While the detail arrangement is not very material and may be changed in Ivarious ways, I prefer to -pivot-ally mount the shoes 23 and 24 in angular frames 25 shown distinctly in Fig. 17, 18 and 19. This frame 25 has lugs 26 forming at opposite ends bearings for a pintle 27 upon which the shoe 23 is pivotally mounted by means of lugs 28. On the pintle 27 is disposed a coil s ring 29. .one end of which bears against t e upper surface ofv the shoe and they other end'ot which bears against'the upstanding yoke-shaped portion,

25"l of the frame 25 so that the spring tends to force the shoe downwardly upon the rollers 17 and 18- respectively. To the shoe 23 is attached a strip of metal' 3() which bears upon the rear surface of the yoke 25 and' thus forms a stop limit-ing the downward v The 'frame 25 is attached to the frame 22 by means of screws 31. Both shoes are alike and the description of one applies to the other. It is the function of shoes 23 and 24 to press fthe ieces to be canceled against the feed rollers 1 and 18 which, as isusual, have a peripheral surface of high frictional resistance, for instance rubber. i

' Between the shoes 23and 24 is a mechanical element which hasthe most important function in the feed mechanism considered as a whole. Upon a block 32 is pivotally .arms 38-which are interconnected at their fr ont end's by a bar 39 which'is parallel to the front edge of the plate 33. The length of the arms 38 is'such that the bar 39 can, during its inward pivotal movement, pass past the front edge of the plate 33. The arrangement is such that the free front edge 39"L of the bar`39 extends transversely of the path of movementv of the letters and forms a barrier or abutment substantially perpendicular to the plane of motion ofthe letters, when the arms 38 kare in their innermost position which may be determined by any suitable stop mechanism.

On the block 32 is slidably mounted a U- shaped member 40. For .the sake of mechanical simplicity I have made the block 32 of two parts, the inner part 32a being of smaller width than the outer portion thus defining recesses or slideways for the member 40 to slide in. The inner portion 32a may be screwed or otherwise fastened to the outer portion as by screw 41 and the block as a whole may 'be secured to frame 22 b means of screws 42.

At its front the member 40 carries a plate 43 pivotally connected upon a pintle 44 upon which is mounted a coil spring 45-one end of which bears upon the'plate 43 and the other end against the block 32. The plate thus tends to move inwardly against a letter which passes by it, the inward movement, however being limited due to the position of the block upon the frame 22.

yA spring 46 which is fastened to the block 32 passes inwardly between the ears 34 and bears against the. spring 45 and pintle 44 and by its spring action tends to move the member 40 inwardly toward the letter.

Near its free ends the member 40 is prov vided with stop elements 47 and the arms 38 'are provided with cam members 48 so shaped as to force the member 40 back against the' tension of spring 46 when the arms 38 are swung inwardly toward the path of movement of the letters. On the other hand, when the abutment-39 moves out of the path of movement, the spring 46 vwill cause the member/10 to move'toward the.p`ath of movement of the letters.

To the bar 39 isconnected a spring blade 49. At present Ihave .riveted orl screwed the spring'blade to an angle iron 50* and secured the angle iron to the bar 39. It is understood that for mass production the use of an angle iron would be made un necessary.

The arrangement just described is such that the movement of the bar 39 toward the path ofmovement of the letters iis limited by the action of the cams 48 upon the stop shoulders 47, the outward movement of the member being limited by the pintle 44 extending lacross the block 32.

The outward movement of the barrier or abutment, away from the path of movement of the letters is normally prevented by an arm 50. This `'arm is periodically moved in the direction indicated by the arrow in Figs. 1 and11 and returned to its normal position. -'l`henextentofv angular movement is onlyrelati'vely small and, it may be remarked at the same time, the time consumed by the oscillation very short, as will be more fully described. K l

The arm is secured to the upper` end `of a vertical shaft 51 to the lower end of which is secured an arm 52. The shaft 51- extends through a hollow stud 53 which is secured to the platform 1 by means of scews 54 or in any other suitable way. The shaft 51 is slidable iny vertical direction and may' be held in any one of two positions by means of a spring 55 having its hook-shaped free end extending through an opening 561in thestud and engaging elther one of two vertically spaced grooves in the shaft 51. By means of a knob 57 the shaft 51- may be lifted until the spring snaps into the lower groove or the'shaft may be depressed to force the latch hook of the spring 55 out of the lower groove and then moved downwardly until the latch snaps into the upper groove.

A spring 58 is at one end secured to a post 59, passes around the shaft 51 to the forward end of the arm 50 and is'held in potential position by means ofa peg 60 shown in Fig.. 5. The spring 58 is thus constantly under tension and when unrestrained will .cause the arm 50 to bear against the spring blade 49 which in turn will resiliently hold the barrier 39n in the path of movement 'of the letters. The angular movement of the shaft 51 in the direction of the force of spring 58 is limitedby means 'ofI a stop 61 in the path of movement of arm 52. This stop 61 is preferably of rubber to eliminate the noise which would otherwise result.

Upon the shaft 62 by which the disk 4 is rotated is mounted an auxiliary disk 63 below platform 1.

This auxiliary disk carries at opposite points pins 64 and 65, one being longer than the other, The length or height of the pins is such that when the shaft 51 is. pulled upwardly vto its upper position, the arm 52 will clear the shorter pin 64l and be struck by the lon er pin 65 only. l/Vhen the shaft 51 is in itsower position, the arm 52 will be struck by both pins .in turn. The arm 52 proJects into the path ofthe pins 64 and 65 far enough to cause the desired angular Amovement of the shaft 5].4 and of the arm 50.

Thus while the shaft 62 and the disk 4 make one revolution, the arm 50 may be oscillated once or twice at the will of the operone by one toward the disk. But for the barrier 39 each letter would successively move along the path of motion defined by rollers 6, roller 7, rollers 17 and 18 and the pressure elements 11, 12, 13, 14, 23 and 24 and would then pass between rollers 121 and 122, which will be more fully referred to, to the disk.

Assume now that the shaft 51 is in upper position. The pressure on the barrier wouldv therefore be released only once during one revolution.. Assume further that the letters are 8 inches long, all letters being assortedA according to size. While the barrier is in the position indicated-in Figs. 1 and 1'1, the first letter will move against the barrier. This barrer forms a positive stop. The rollers are not able to force the letter ahead. They will merely slide over the surface of the letand the lletter can easily force the letter forward.l The force of the impact imparted to the letter by the rollers will fling the barrier out of the path of movement and allow the letter to advance. Almost instantaneously after the letter has commenced -itsforward' movement, the arm 50 will be released and snap back upon the side of the letter. Now,

the barrier is ineffective andto the contrary the barrier39 will be firmly pressed against the letter and thereby promote and increase the frictional contact of the letter with rollers 17 and 18 with the result that no slipping of the letter and no accidental retardation is likely. However, in order to preclude all possibilities of slipping the .rollers '17 and 18 have a peripheral speed slightly in excess. of the peripheral speed of the disk 4. @Such exycess `speed does not result in a premature arrival of the letter at the disk, since .the

rollers 121 and 122 have the same peripheral speed as the disk and therefore do not allow the letter to advance relatively to the disk. The higher peripheral s eed of the rollers 17 and 18 Vhas been so c osen as to merely make a retardation impossible.

It is needless to say that the pin 65, the arms 50 and 52 and one of the canceling means are so correlatedthat the arcuate distance from the canceling means to the point at which the impression is made is the sam'e as the distance from the barrier or abutment to the said point, at the moment thebarrier..

is released.. At lan rate the relative positions may be so ad]usted that the letter, after being released, will arrive in 'contact with the diskat the precise moment required to bring any predetermined portion of the latter into printing contact with` the canceling means. l A

It)- is easily understood that in practice two envelopes of the assumed size can be canceled during one revolution of the disk and in fact it is the very purpose 'of the invention, as previously referred to, to obtain a machine of high working speed. In

or an, equivalent arrangement, to pass by .the abutment 39, during the short interval of release i. e. during the period of 'oscillation of arm 50, although the letter is not in -the precise relation to the canceling means on the disk. It thus would Ibe possible for the first-letter tov reachfor instance a point near the location of channel i 431. atv the moment the abutment 39-is re-` leased and to pass by the abutment 39 -anin- -thei disk although it would be nearly an movement of a second letter or other let' ters to thereby separate them and allow only one letter at a time to reach the abutment 39 In addition to these stop elements there is one other stop element which has a twofold stopping function, namely the .plate 43 in conjunction with a small permanent abutment'43L and a channel 43h ln-thepartition wall 5. As shown in Fig. 11, Ythe abutment 43E is not abrupt. but deL fines ,a short inclined plane and the front edge of the plate 43 is normally in sub.

stantially abutting relation with the free edge of the abutment. -The front edge of a letter passing forwardly under the driving force of the rollers 6 and 7 willthus be slightly deflected and normally push the plate 43 out of its way. The spring 45 is comparatively weak and does not offer any .appreciab e resistance to the passing of the letter. 'and in s ite .of the restraining action of theI prece ing stop elements pass along with the first letter, it will also be deflected by the first letter and strike against the plate .43 nearer to the pivot oint thereof and will be retained against urther movement. This restraining action of the plate is effective for various reasons. In the first instance the tension of the spring increases .points relatively close to its pivot whereby the lever action is comparatively short. The second function of the plate 43 is as follows: At the beginning of the operation of the machine, it would be possible Should a second letter prematurelyA for the first letter fed into the machine, in

inch out of its proper place intended to be given toit by the abutment. It lwould be late in arrivin lat'the disk and' the canceling mark whlch is intended to be printed upon the postage stamp in thecorner of theiletter would miss the letter.

Viheu the arm 5() is moved -awayfrom the spring blade 49, the spring 46 is free. to actA and it is strong enough to force' the member 40 inwardly thereby 'moving the plate 43 inwardly into the groove 43b.- The plate 43 is'thus locked in the path of van oncoming letter while the abutment 39 is ineffective. A letter which would reach the abutment 39 ytoo late and would pass by it out of its proper order, will be temporarily stopped by the plate 43. As soon las the arm 50 comes back against the abutien held until the abutment 39 is released as siderablylhigher than can be attained in other machines used or proposed at the present time.

It may also be stated here that the roll` lll) f ers 17 and y18 may have the same peripheral speed as the disk 4. The excess speed has been provided for merely as a matter of precaution to obtain an additional 'safety factor.

The inking mechanism has been con- 'structed to establish a special correlation:

ship with the periphery .of the disk in order to carry .out the Vvarious operations of which the disk is susceptible.

As previously mentioned the disk is provided with a plurality of distinct canceling means, two in the particular' instance.' According to whether only one of these canceling means is used during o ne revolution- -the letters in order to effectively cancel stamps not placed in the corner or to effectively cancel all stamps of a row of four or five or even more sometimes met with. In that case it is necessary to apply ink to substantially the whole periphery of the disk,

it being understood that the portions of the disk between l.the usual cancelation means above lreferred to may be 'and normally are provided with additional auxiliary canceling means such that the canoelation marks are in the'form of advertising matter, as is well known. Y

The` inking mechanism is therefore provided with' means for selectively applying the ink to onel or a plurality 'of distinctive canceling means, as desired, or to the whole periphery thereof.

Having particular reference to Figs.` 1, 5y

and 6 the inking mechanism proper is contained ina casing which may be suitably attached to the platform 1 as by means of bolts 71 and lugs 72, see Fig. 1. The casing 70 serves as a reservoir for the ink. casing is a cross piece 73 having upright portions 7 4 and 75. The cross piece I7 3 supports 'A Upon the all the mechanism in the casing. piece 73 is adjustably mounted a stud 76 extending through a slig-htly oblong opening (not shown) in the piece 73 and screwed into a nut 77. Upon the stud 76 `ismounted a bell crank lever 79 at the'one end of which is pivotally mounted the ink transfer roller l80 and the other end of which is connected to a spring 81 which in turn is attached to a stationary support 82. .Unless otherwise prevented the transfer roller will .move in one direction under the action of spring 81. The arrangement is such that, unrestrained, the transfer roller will simultaneously con tact with the periphery of the disk 4 and the inking roller 83. In that case `the frictional .contactfwith the disk will cause the transfer roller to. rotate which in turn will cause rotary inotion of the inking roller. The inking roller is mounted by means of journals in bearing in the cross piece 73 and a support'84 or may be pivotally supported- 'in any other suitable way.

' A lever arm 85 is pivotally mounted on a pin 86 which is mounted for vertical sliding movement through the platform 1. A spring 87 is secured at one end to the platform 1 and at its other to the pin 86 through a collar 88. rllhe lever 85 confined between this collar 88 and a head 89. lt is understood that the detail may lic changed in various ways.

rthe lever arm carries intermediate one of its free ends and its pivot a roller 90 In the 92 'will pull the lever arm 85 .inwardly and" cause the disengagement of the transfer' roll,- er from the disk 4 and the inking roller 83.

Upon a pivot 93 on the platform` 1- is mounted a lever 94 which has a handle portion 95 at one end and a cam surface 96 at its other end. The cam surface 96 is so formed that it Will allow the lever arm 85 to slide inwardly when the arm is moved to the left or the handle portion 95 to the right and when thereafter the lever 94 is moved in opposite direction, the lever 85 is moved again outwardly. The spring 92 is shown as attached to the lever -94 near its `pivot point.

Upon another pivot 97 upon the lower surface of the platform 1 is pivotally mount` ed a lever 98 the inner end of which is adapted to come into contact with pin 86. Pin 86 normally \,projects below the lower lsurface of platform 1. Either the pin 86 or the lever 98 or both are beveled as is shown, and by moving the lever .98 against the pin 86, the latterwill rise against the tension of spring 87. It is thus possible'to maintain the lever 85 in either one of two vertically different positions. v Upon the shaft 62a (see Fig. 82) carrying the disk 4 is mounted a collar 99 defining cams 100 and 101. For the sake of showing the relation of these cams to thelevel` 85, the collar99 and the cams, 100 and 101 have been shown in dotted lines in Figf'.

The other free end of the lever 85 i It should be remarked at this point that the shaft 62a has at its free end ratchet teeth 102 which engage similar ratchet teeth 103 upon shaft 62. The shaft 62 has an extension 62b fitting into a bore 62c ofthe shaft 62a. This 'arrangement-has been made to remove .with facility the disk' from its shaft 62.`

The cam 100 has substantially twice the thickness of cam 101. Thus when 4the lever llower position, only cam -100 will strike againstthc' roller 90 and arm 85 will be forced outwardly only once during cach revolution of the disk. llllhcn the lever 94 is moved to the position' shown in liig. 5, the arm 95 will be kept in its outer position. :fn the latter case the transfer roller 'ffl will be continuously in contactwith the disk 4 and -A the inking roller 83 while in the other operations described the transfer roller 80 will A be normally out of contact with the disk 4 and the inking roller and allowed to come into contact with them either `once or twice during each revolution, according to whether cam 100 or'both cams 100 and 101 are brought into contact with lever arm 85. The

shape of the cams and their angular relation- -ship to the disk and the other elements is such that the transfer roller will cover precisely such portion or portions of the periphery of the disk as is intended. vIn the particular instance the relation is such that only one or both of said distinctive cancelend of a resilient arm 107 which is secured upon a shaft 108 as for instance by means of a. set screw 109.

Upon the portion 7 5 is pivotally mountedy an arm 66 engaging at its free end the bell crank lever 79. rlhe shaft 108 has an eccentric portion bearing against the arm 66 so that the latter is raised and lowered during the rotation of shaft 108. The raising and lowering motion is transmitted to the bell crank lever 79 and the transfer roller 80, a"

spring 67 upon stud 7 6 acting upon the arm 66 to keep it in contact with the eccentric. The transfer roller thus continuously changes its`position relatively to the disk` and has a uniform wear.v

The shaft 108 may be oscillated by any suitable mechanism. In the particular instance I employ a vertical pin 111 provided at its upper end withteeth 112 (see Figs. 9

and 10) engaging'similar teeth upon a collar 110 carried at the end-of pink 111. This pin 111 is guided for its vertical motion in a bushing 113 upon platform 2 and extending through the platform 2 rests upon an eccentric 114. The eccentric is rotated by means of a. shaft 115 mounted in a bearing' 116 bolted to the lower surface of the platform 2. The shaft 115 in turn carries a worm gear 117 engaging a worm 118. The pin is moved up by the eccentric and a spring 119 acting upon shaft 108 effects a positive downward movement of the pin 111. rIhe movement of the pin is, of course, relatively slow as compared with the speed of the disk 4. At present I find that approximately 60 oscillations to four hundred revolutions of disk 4 gives very good satisfaction. Obviously this feature isa matter of mechanical detail to be changed or modified according to the results of e\:perience.

The pad 106 periodically dips into the ink in the well which is the casing and spreads it "over the inking roller during the A surplus Between the abutment 39 and the printing.

disk 4 are disposed rollers 121 and 122. A spring `blade 123 which is secured to the partition wall 5 forms a guide to direct the letl ters between the rollers 121 and 122. The rollers 122 are positively driven` through suit-able gearing to be referred to later on while the rollers 121 are pressed into contact with the rollers 122 by spring action.

extending laterally from a vertical shaft 125 pivotally mounted upon the .platform 1. The shaft 125 carries a crank arm 126 to which is attached one end of a tension spring 127, the other end of which is connected to a pin 128 en the platform 1. The spring 127 while sufliciently strong to firmly press rollers 121 against rollers 1227 will readily yield to the wedging action of a letter. rIhe arm 124 has a stop shoulder 129 adapted to bear against a stop element 130 rising from the platform 1. By use of this stop mechanism the arm 124 is prevented from moving beyond a definite limiting point and undue wear of the rollers 121 is avoided, these roll ers having a peripheral surface of rubber.

lThe rollers 122 are preferably of metal and have a knurled surface to increase the gripping action. The peripheral speed of the rollers 121, 122 is the same as the peripheral speed of the disk. The peripheral speed 'of the rollers 17 is either the same or preferably greater than the peripheral speed of the rollers 121, 122, as previously mentioned. A letter coming from rollers 17 will thus readily pass between rollers `121 and 122. Spring guide blades 131 and 132 attached to the shaft 125 'and the arm 124 respectively bear upon the letters passing out from between the rollers 121, 122 and press them into contact with a guide frame 133 having an opening 134 through which the printing disk 4 projects (see Figs. 5 and 6). The letters are thus forced toward the disk 4 and enter between the disk 4 and an impression roller 135 which presses the letter into firm printing contact with the disk 4^'.

In order to effect a dependable cancelation of the stamps and' make them absolutely unfit for further use, I have provided special mechanism. To explain the signiiicalice of this feature it must be mentioned that fraudulent practices have been discovered. making the cancelation by ink alone ineffective. This practicel involved The rollers 121 are carried upon an arm 124 

